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Re: General WoD Discussion #2: Its time to Celebrate!

So I've been playing (or reading, or viewing, or whatever the verb is for a visual novel) Fate/Stay Night, and have realized that

a) almost all of the things Caster does could be duplicated by a pre-archmastery Mage, albeit one with mastery of four or five Arcana.
b) the setting of FSN integrates pretty well with the World of Darkness.

Naturally I ended up thinking about how to run a Holy Grail War in the WoD. Servant summoning would use the rules from Summoners with some modifications to allow other supernaturals to summon. Servants would be equivalent to rank 4 or 5 spirits, significantly more powerful than average characters but not completely overpowered. After all,

Spoiler

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Rin manages to blow Berserker's head off once, nulls Caster's magic and nearly beats her to death, and a buffed-up Kuzuki nearly kills Saber barehanded.

Re: General WoD Discussion #2: Its time to Celebrate!

Originally Posted by Mephisto

So I've been playing (or reading, or viewing, or whatever the verb is for a visual novel) Fate/Stay Night, and have realized that

a) almost all of the things Caster does could be duplicated by a pre-archmastery Mage, albeit one with mastery of four or five Arcana.
b) the setting of FSN integrates pretty well with the World of Darkness.

Naturally I ended up thinking about how to run a Holy Grail War in the WoD. Servant summoning would use the rules from Summoners with some modifications to allow other supernaturals to summon. Servants would be equivalent to rank 4 or 5 spirits, significantly more powerful than average characters but not completely overpowered. After all,

Spoiler

Show

Rin manages to blow Berserker's head off once, nulls Caster's magic and nearly beats her to death, and a buffed-up Kuzuki nearly kills Saber barehanded.

I'm rather new to the WoD mythos (my first character hasn't even become any sort of supernatural yet), and don't know all that much about Fate/Stay Night, but Archer is defined by reliance upon weapons, right? Preferably long-ranged (though I know that the original Archer focuses on swords, he can at least throw them...)? I'd like to suggest the legendary Marine sniper Carlos Norman Hathcock II, having been recruited after Vietnam to serve in Task Force: VALKYRIE, and thus, even in the afterlife toting some pretty impressive armaments. Hunter, naturally.

(I'd suggest Simo Häyhä, but his date of birth would indicate that there probably wouldn't be as much high tech to draw upon with him.)

Last edited by Sucrose; 2012-10-08 at 06:49 PM.

My Unitarian Jihad name is Brother Rail Gun of Sweet Reason. Get yours!

Re: General WoD Discussion #2: Its time to Celebrate!

I got pretty much every single NWoD splatbook- Werewolf, Mage, Changeling, Promethean, Hunter and Geist.

so I'm thinking, I might as well round it out and get Vampire.

but here is where the classic problem comes in:

Masquerade or Requiem? I've searched the net, but I haven't found anything that gives me a clear answer as to which would be better for me.

as you can tell, I'm a newer player so…yeah, which would be better for me, a newer player to get? Masquerade or Requiem?

Definitely Requiem. The Translation Guide helped clean up (some) of Masquerade's mechanics, but the fluff and setting and powers are still sloppier than a potato launcher loaded with Jell-O.

Originally Posted by Chilingsworth

Wow! Not only was that awesome, I think I actually kinda understand Archeron now. If all the "intermediate" outer planes got that kind of treatment, I doubt there would be anywhere near as many critics of their utility.

Re: General WoD Discussion #2: Its time to Celebrate!

So long story short, I got myself in over my head, by agreeing to ST a nWOD game. It seems like this system is a bit more complicated than expected. I can't seem to figure out which books are necessary. Right now, my group is deciding between Werewolf, Vampire, and Mage. Which of these is easiest for group play? Also, where can I buy these books? The WW website returns errors. What supplements are important to each main book? Help?

Re: General WoD Discussion #2: Its time to Celebrate!

...if you're running NWoD, the first book you need is the New World of Darkness core book. If your group insists on playing a type of supernatural right off the bat rather than base mortals (recommended for a new group), then you need that type's core splatbook - Vampire the Requiem, Werewolf the Forsaken, or Mage The Awakening. Any other books are purely optional bonus content.

Of those three, I'd suggest Werewolf personally - that is, if you're not willing to play base mortals. It has the highest level of expected group-cooperation and is probably the lowest power level for the three, though spirits can be complicated and confusing.

Last edited by The Glyphstone; 2012-10-10 at 08:48 PM.

Originally Posted by GungHo, on Battletech

The Atlas is also goofy but it has that whole "Stay Puft Marshmallow Man" menacing smile thing going for it. The guy who drew that one up was obviously taken to the Nutcracker when he was a child... and he was screaming in terror the entire time.

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Originally Posted by Enterti, Cogidubnus

Glyphstone, out of all the playground I think you scare me the most...

Re: General WoD Discussion #2: Its time to Celebrate!

So people have changed their minds, and we have narrowed the supernatural down to Changeling or Werewolf. As the ST, I'm interesting in telling a combat light story, with a big overarching plot. Thoughts?

Re: General WoD Discussion #2: Its time to Celebrate!

As Glyphstone said, running simple mortals is by far your best bet as a new ST. But if your players are insisting on either Changeling or Werewolf, and you want a combat-light game, Changeling probably works better for that. Werewolves do lots of combat, and that's really all they're good at. You can do combat-light, sure, but combat is their main means of interacting with everyone around them.

That said, while Changeling lends itself better to combat-light games, it's noticeably more complex then Werewolf. So be warned: before you go into the game, you really want to know how the game works. Read through the core books, both World of Darkness and Changeling: the Lost, first, and don't let players pull from other books for you first game.

Originally Posted by CN the Logos

They're just there, and horribly fatal when one stumbles across them, like self-aware landmines.

Re: General WoD Discussion #2: Its time to Celebrate!

Okay, so I'm reading this scenario, and I've got a few questions.

Actually, I have a scenario myself.

Okay, so.

I have a PC with a 5 in Strength, and a 3 in Weaponry. His opponent has a 3 in Defense. The PC has a +1 weapon. So, the PC would roll 6 dice. (8+1)-3. 8's count as successes, and below eights are failed. If the PC so chose, they could expend one point of Willpower, to add three extra dice to the pool, for a total of 9. (8+1+3)-9). Any results of ten are rerolled further, adding to the success pool if they succeed. Rolling stops once no tens are rolled.

I'm fairly sure I have that right, but my question is this. If the PC is attacked that turn, can he further expend one will to increase his defense, or is he limited, similarly to Glamour?

Re: General WoD Discussion #2: Its time to Celebrate!

He's limited. Page 133 of the World of Darkness rulebook states that only 1 willpower point can be spent per turn, regardless of how it's used. So, if your hypothetical strongman spent willpower to attack his opponent, he cannot then spend more willpower to bolster his defense against an incoming attack.

The reason for this, from a narrative perspective, is that, by spending a willpower point, you are throwing all of your effort into that action. Once you have done that, you cannot then throw the same level of effort into other actions.

Originally Posted by CN the Logos

They're just there, and horribly fatal when one stumbles across them, like self-aware landmines.

Re: General WoD Discussion #2: Its time to Celebrate!

Would wooden bullets work ? I have a feeling that they'd be too fragile and would disintegrate in the barrel but that is just a guess really. Anybody have nay better knowledge

Wooden bullets can work, but as a lot of a bullet's power comes from it's weight, they wouldn't travel as far or hit as hard. Mind, this is from reading stories off of the Internet and other fantasy books.

See when a tree falls in the forest, and there's no one there to hear it, you can bet we've bought the vinyl.
-Snow White

Re: General WoD Discussion #2: Its time to Celebrate!

Would wooden bullets work ? I have a feeling that they'd be too fragile and would disintegrate in the barrel but that is just a guess really. Anybody have nay better knowledge

Wooden bullets tend to shake themselves apart and/or burn up and in any event won't penetrate far. A wood-core bullet likewise won't work, and slivers in a hollow-point are right out. Now, you could always use a hand crossbow, and the Hunter book has stats for a zip-stake, but my favorite method of "surprise, stake!" has always been to powder up some wood in a blender and offer it mixed into a drink to a vampire (especially effective if you have any Mandrakes).

Originally Posted by Chilingsworth

Wow! Not only was that awesome, I think I actually kinda understand Archeron now. If all the "intermediate" outer planes got that kind of treatment, I doubt there would be anywhere near as many critics of their utility.

Re: General WoD Discussion #2: Its time to Celebrate!

Originally Posted by Lord_Gareth

Wooden bullets tend to shake themselves apart and/or burn up and in any event won't penetrate far. A wood-core bullet likewise won't work, and slivers in a hollow-point are right out. Now, you could always use a hand crossbow, and the Hunter book has stats for a zip-stake, but my favorite method of "surprise, stake!" has always been to powder up some wood in a blender and offer it mixed into a drink to a vampire (especially effective if you have any Mandrakes).

Yeah, I have no idea how this is supposed to do anything to the vampire.

Originally Posted by GungHo, on Battletech

The Atlas is also goofy but it has that whole "Stay Puft Marshmallow Man" menacing smile thing going for it. The guy who drew that one up was obviously taken to the Nutcracker when he was a child... and he was screaming in terror the entire time.

Spoiler

Show

Originally Posted by Enterti, Cogidubnus

Glyphstone, out of all the playground I think you scare me the most...

Re: General WoD Discussion #2: Its time to Celebrate!

and now I've got an idea for a texan Hunter who got confused over the spelling of "stake" and has carved some wood into the shape of a steak so he tries to go around and slay vampires by shoving a wooden steak through their heart.

Monkey Playwright of the Improbability Drive Fan Club, Regardless, orcs should be people.

Re: General WoD Discussion #2: Its time to Celebrate!

Originally Posted by The Glyphstone

Yeah, I have no idea how this is supposed to do anything to the vampire.

Well, ideally you mix it in with actual Vitae (hence the Mandrake thing) before a setting in which the blush of life is expected (a rave party, Elysium, whatever). They gain a heartbeat and then the powdered wood lodges in their heart tissue.

Stealth staking. Your storyteller may or may not approve.

Originally Posted by Chilingsworth

Wow! Not only was that awesome, I think I actually kinda understand Archeron now. If all the "intermediate" outer planes got that kind of treatment, I doubt there would be anywhere near as many critics of their utility.

Re: General WoD Discussion #2: Its time to Celebrate!

Originally Posted by Lord_Gareth

Well, ideally you mix it in with actual Vitae (hence the Mandrake thing) before a setting in which the blush of life is expected (a rave party, Elysium, whatever). They gain a heartbeat and then the powdered wood lodges in their heart tissue.

Stealth staking. Your storyteller may or may not approve.

I don't think I've ever met a storyteller that would let that slide -not for the least because that's not a 'stealth staking' so much as an automatic instant kill, since the 'stake' can't be removed once it's in.

Originally Posted by GungHo, on Battletech

The Atlas is also goofy but it has that whole "Stay Puft Marshmallow Man" menacing smile thing going for it. The guy who drew that one up was obviously taken to the Nutcracker when he was a child... and he was screaming in terror the entire time.

Spoiler

Show

Originally Posted by Enterti, Cogidubnus

Glyphstone, out of all the playground I think you scare me the most...

Re: General WoD Discussion #2: Its time to Celebrate!

Originally Posted by The Glyphstone

I don't think I've ever met a storyteller that would let that slide -not for the least because that's not a 'stealth staking' so much as an automatic instant kill, since the 'stake' can't be removed once it's in.

It worked great for me until I tried it on a closet Crone sorceress. When her ritual to destroy the stake went off she tracked me down and killed my character painfully.

Originally Posted by Chilingsworth

Wow! Not only was that awesome, I think I actually kinda understand Archeron now. If all the "intermediate" outer planes got that kind of treatment, I doubt there would be anywhere near as many critics of their utility.

Re: General WoD Discussion #2: Its time to Celebrate!

Does it ever explain why staking a vampire puts them to sleep? I know the sunlight thing is explained as a mystical weakness rather than a physiological one; VALKYRIE's gadget to emit light and radiation that's almost identical to sunlight might make a vamp go into fear frenzy, but won't actually ash it. But the stake thing, I'm not sure about. Is there some symbolic reason why a sharp piece of wood to the chest is significant, or is it a biological thing that "plant cells + vampire heart tissue = bad"?

Re: General WoD Discussion #2: Its time to Celebrate!

The winning answer is... No. The core book says that "Kindred offer a number of religious and occult theories for why wood has this power. Most Kindred simply accept it as a fact of life." It seems to be another case of, "Choose your own explanation that best fits your chronicle."

As for the powdered stake trick, I can think of another good reason it wouldn't work: the heart must be pierced by the stake. Tricking a vampire into drinking Vitae mixed with powdered wood and then invoking the Blush of Life wouldn't actually do anything unless your ST was being really generous.

Originally Posted by CN the Logos

They're just there, and horribly fatal when one stumbles across them, like self-aware landmines.

Re: General WoD Discussion #2: Its time to Celebrate!

Even assuming the Kindred could keep it down in the first place; after all, just because he orders a so-rare-it's-bloody T-bone doesn't mean he's going to be able to avoid the part where he brings it up.

A not-so-subtle reminder of what we all are, and why it is pointless to play at anything else. (Thanks to Gnomish Wanderer for the Setite avatar! )

Re: General WoD Discussion #2: Its time to Celebrate!

Task Force: Valkyrie actually has access to wooden bullets. They're made of soft splinters around a mistletoe core. They deal a limited amount of lethal damage to vampires and called shots can stake them from a distance.

My FFRP characters. Avatar by Kris on a Stick. Sigatars by Gulaghar, Kris on a Stick and Zefir, respectively.